SUMMER OF THE HERO

Regina Wenger

It’s a Friday night, and I come home exhausted from a long day waitressing. Unlike my sister, I have no grand plans for the evening. So, it looks like I’ll be hanging out with Mom and Dad tonight (again). It’s every 21-year-old’s dream—an evening at home with your parents.

Sometimes I feel like Toula in a scene from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." She sits between her parents in her pajamas on a plastic-encased couch, the dark room and their eyes illuminated by the glow of the TV screen.

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate spending time with my parents, nor am I antisocial; I’ve just lacked time to make friends since we moved. Moving after high school graduation and then heading off to college leaves little opportunity for making friends in a new hometown. Thus my summer social slump occurs.

This summer, after my "I’m lonely" emotional breakdown, Dad decided to remedy the situation the best way he could. The next day, list maker that he is, Dad jotted down a few ideas for activities that would get me out of the house. His outline included everything from baseball games to whitewater rafting. However, what turned out to be my favorite activity of the summer had nothing to do with being outdoors.

I miss good discussion when I’m away from school, so Dad suggested a weekly breakfast during which an article of our choosing would be discussed. Alternating who chose the selection, we covered topics like gay marriage and prayer in schools. Our last breakfast of the summer was an open-ended Q & A with Dad.

Every Wednesday morning we’d gather at a local coffee shop for our weekly chat. Often we would have to cut things short so we could both get to work on time. I loved the time that we spent together, and it usually made my day better.

In an essay from her book The Peanuts in My Life, Leanne Eshleman Benner speaks about naming her father as her hero and not finding any man close to him until she met her husband. In my lack of romantic relationships, that has often been a consolation to me. I haven’t dated much because I have yet to find a man that comes close to my father. No man has yet to make me feel as beautiful and worthy as my father does.

If and when I ever find another man who makes me feel this way, I know I’ll have landed a catch. Though he’ll never fill Dad’s shoes, he’ll own his own pair, and they’ll be just as big. Some people search their whole lives to discover their hero; this summer I had breakfast with mine. Every Wednesday morning.

—Regina Wenger, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is a junior at Eastern Mennonite University, who is currently exploring city life through the Washington Community Scholars Center program. Don’t worry, a few days after reading this article her dad’s head returned to normal size. She welcomes your comments and can be reached at regina.wenger
@emu.edu.